BIRDSFOOT TREFOIL AND BIG TREFOIL 3 



CLIMATIC REQUIREMENTS 



From the information available it is concluded that birdsfoot trefoil 

 is best adapted to a temperate climate and will do much better in the 

 northern than in the southern half of the United States. Big trefoil, 

 from very limited observations, may not be quite so winter hardy as 

 birdsfoot trefoil, but plantings have survived and made good growth 

 as far north as Massachusetts. The following is quoted from the 

 Massachusetts Agricultural Experiment Station's Eighth Annual 

 Report (4, p. 174)^ 



Sulla (Hedysarum coronaria) and Lotus villosus 3 have for several years shown 

 a healthy and vigorous growth on our grounds; they stand our average winter 

 very well. Both deserve a serious trial for stocking pastures with a nutritious 

 growth. They shade the ground more efficiently in such localities than any of 

 our coarser clover varieties. Some subsequent statements of their composition 

 illustrate their high feeding value. 



The most northern State reporting the growing of L. corniculatus is 

 Maine (3, p. 167). The following is quoted from that station's 

 annual report of 1889: 



Birdsfoot Clover. — * * * Our plants were 14 inches high. They had 

 a tap. root, sending up numerous branches with bright yellow flowers. 



From 1905 to 1908 the Department, in cooperation with the 

 Washington (State) Agricultural Experiment Station at Pullman, 

 Wash., grew L. corniculatus and L. uliginosus in general trial plantings. 

 Both grew well, the former attaining stem lengths up to 30 and the 

 latter up to 22 inches, and although a dense, vigorous growth was 

 made, they were considered inferior to alfalfa. 



At the Arlington Experiment Farm, Arlington, Va., plantings of 

 L. corniculatus in 1909 and later years have made good growth and 

 have attained stem lengths up to 30 inches. L. uliginosus at this 

 station has not made as large a growth as L. corniculatus but has been 

 quite vigorous. Seed of L. corniculatus sent by the Department to 

 the Illinois Agricultural Experiment Station was planted at a sub- 

 station in the southern part of the State and was grown from 1927 

 through 1929. This planting made good growth and appeared 

 reasonably well adapted to southern Illinois conditions. 



In cooperation with the North Carolina State Agricultural Experi- 

 ment Station, plantings of L. corniculatus were maintained at States- 

 ville, N. C, from 1931 to 1935. The plants attained a height of 18 

 inches and were reasonably vigorous. Other States in which suc- 

 cessful experimental plantings or naturalized growths have been 

 observed are California, Oregon, Michigan, and New York. 



SOIL AND MOISTURE REQUIREMENTS 



Birdsfoot trefoil is not exacting as to soil requirements and does 

 well under a variety of soil conditions. It makes good growth on 

 sandy and light gravelly soils as well as on heavier clay loam and has 

 been observed growing in soils with moderate amounts of alkali. 

 In the Catskill section of eastern New York it is growing on poor 



3 Three different plants have received the name Lotus villosus, namely, L. villosus Forsk., L. villosus Schur. 

 (now referred to the synonymy of L. corniculatus var. hirsutus Koch), and L. villosus Thuill. (now treated 

 varietally as L. uliginosus var. villosus (Thuill.) Lamotte). As no authority is given for the name in the 

 publication cited, it is not possible to know definitely which plant was meant, but inasmuch as L. uliginosus 

 var. villosus is the one most commonly handled commercially it seems likely that this is the plant referred to. 



